Those daily aches and pains you have them, I have them, everybody has them. One day those aches and pains turn into more pain than ache and getting across the room and down the stairs becomes a problem. What is a person supposed to do?

Here is what happened to me. I had those aches and pains, the things in life that add up little by little. Surgery on my abdomen at 9 years old, meant no more gymnastics for me. I had surgery to set a shattered cheekbone (the right maxilla) when I was 19 years old. I stopped playing softball after that. One day I woke up, and I could not use my left arm, scary, and I was not yet 30. I will turn 57 this year, and I feel better today than I ever remember feeling in my life, both in my body and in my spirit. I wake up each morning happy.

Looking at my videos would you guess that all these things have happened to me? The body is amazing, and it can restore itself. The path my life has led me down has taught me great things. Now I want you to have access to those same tools This has been a long time coming for me to look good, feel good, and have my body function well. Today I know what it is like to have regular bowel movements. Little by little over the years I have managed to make it all happen. How, you ask? I’ll tell you my story.

The surgery at 9 years old changed my life in so many ways it is hard to describe them all. It has become the gift that keeps on giving. It has been my greatest teacher (driven my motivation). I was punched in the belly by a fellow classmate and ended up being operated on that evening by an OBYN, for removal of my appendix. The incision starts above and 1.5 inches to the right of my navel and runs down to my pubic bone, right through the muscle. After the surgery, I stayed flat on my back for two weeks. My posture was changed forever, and I was still growing. I developed chronic constipation and swollen legs. Over the years my liver became dirty from being compressed by my dropped ribcage and the constipation. I didn’t digest or eliminate food well anymore. That turned into an acne problem. There was lots stress in my life after a family member's death. Then I started eating cheese and milk before bedtime, and my weight went up to 155 lbs, I was 11 years old, had developed very low self-esteem. The surgery pulled my chest down and forward, rounding my shoulders inward. Which came first the posture or the low self-esteem?

I have a visual depth perception distortion. Different light and different angles affect what I see. While playing left field, I caught a soft ball in the face. I did have my mitt up ready to catch the ball, and it passed right by my mitt and hit me in the face. The right cheekbone shattered, and I had surgery to reset the bone. The nerves were damaged which distorted facial muscles and my eye socket size a bit. The surgeon was excellent. A good optometrist once told me that I could over time develop the skill to compensate for the depth perception issue if I stuck with it long enough. As I aged, the facial distortion became more noticeable. That’s when I came across Facial Yoga, exercise for the facial muscles. And yes, it does work. Now I am working with cupping on my face to release fascia adhesions and scars from the acne, etc. I like the results.

I am very motivated to care for my body. I make my living with my arms and hands as a Massage Therapist. I can’t sleep on my side anymore. I can lie on my side for a few minutes, but if I stay too long I get pain and numbness in my arms and hands, and sometimes my neck. Costco is where I was working when the problem with my arm began. I slept on my left side and had done so my whole life. My left arm would go to sleep at night and I would wake up roll over until all the pins and needles went away and roll right back over onto my left side and go back to sleep. At my job as an inventory auditor at Costco, I carried a clipboard around all day in my left arm. After few months at this new job my arm falling asleep at night and going numb was increasing to a couple of times a night and one morning I woke and I could not use my arm. I had pain in my arm, and I could not lift a cup or open a door. I saw a chiropractor that day and I changed my sleeping position that night. This was a pivotal moment that marked a change in direction for me on my journey to heal my body. I had to change what I was doing in order to heal. I had to really want the change to be willing to stick with it. The pain had to be so great that I would try anything to make it happen, and I was willing to try anything. I lived alone and I trusted very few people, doctors or figures of authority.

I started learning yoga when I was about 11 on my own. The resources I used to learn were books and cassettes from mail order catalogs and my older hippy friends. I started teaching yoga to all those older friends in my early 20’s. Stretching has been part of my life for a long time. I have always been interested in the human body it fascinates me. In high school, I remember writing a class paper on why homemade chicken noodle soup help when you are sick. I studied herbs on my own through books and a correspondence course. I opened a business called Corner Stone Herbs before I left my hometown.

I started smoking cigarettes at the age of 12. I quit three times by the age of 26, and at 28 I found myself wanting a cigarette again after breaking up with a boyfriend. I did smoke that last cigarette standing outside on the back dock of the warehouse where I worked. I stood there puffing away wondering about this pattern of smoking and quitting. It was on that dock that I realized the reason I started to smoke in the first place was to make the statement I belonged to a different group-“the smokers and coffee drinkers.” When I moved in with my first partner, I quit smoking even though he still smoked. When we split up, I started smoking again. I repeated this same pattern with the next man in my life. Now on that dock smoking the last cigarette I ever smoked I saw the theme of the pattern; I rejected one group (parents, boyfriend) and was looking for another one to belong to. So every time I wanted a cigarette after that, I knew that I needed to feel like I belonged and I did something other than smoking to fill that void. I also had to learn to control those other urges too, like shopping. What I had to learn to do and I still have to reinforce, is that I belong unto myself. When I fill myself with self-acceptance, self-worth, and self-love, the whole world loves me back, and I belong.

I moved to Eugene, Oregon USA from Washington State changing from a full-time position to a part-time position at Costco Wholesale. While sitting in a chiropractors office I picked up an angel card that read “Education”, and I noticed a poster on the wall that was for a Pre-Licensure Massage Therapist Training with classes starting in two weeks. The school schedule and my work schedule at Costco were a perfect match.

After I started the massage training, I realized everything in my life had led me to this career path. All the things I had learned to do, everything that interested me fed into what I was now pursuing. Gymnastics, drafting, weaving, sewing, pattern making, yoga, tai chi / martial arts, ballroom dancing, modern dance, belly dancing, bicycling, hiking, walking. The first business that I started was a Jewelry Making business when I was 19 years old.

I purchased the home I lived in today and opened my massage practice in 1993. Right after I received my massage license I was invited to join the teacher-training program at the school I had attended. I taught there for 4 years. While I was at the school, I developed the teacher-training manual for teaching stances, which are the body mechanics for the students, while standing at the table performing massage. The owner of the school was the only person teaching stances. She was the only one who knew them. She was teaching me hoping I could take over for her. I would follow along and then write down what we did. What I developed became the manual that made it possible for all of the massage teachers to teach stances. The owners could sell the school now. In college, I took a technical writing class where I received A+ on my papers. I have an Associate Degree in Mechanical Drafting. So here at the massage school, my technical writing skill surfaced again. I didn’t realize the depth of my skill at writing directions. I barely passed English classes.

After I was licensed, I started studying other manual therapy modalities such as Lomi Lomi, Cranial Biomechanics, Visceral Release, Myofascial Techniques, Energy Work and Movement Analysis. The owners of chiropractic office where I received treatment were the sponsors of my favorite teacher, Alain Gehin, D.O. He lives in Spain and to this day we send messages of good wishes to each other. My heart fills with gratitude when I think of him. It was in a movement analysis class that he was teaching that I discovered my natural skill in seeing and understanding movement in the human body. Alain recognized my natural ability, and he fed me as much as I could absorb. I attended 4, 4-day classes each year for 5 years learning from Alain. I studied in the same room with massage therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, a psychotherapist and an MD. After the class in movement analysis I immediately started using it in my practice, my clients loved it, and they would come back and ask me for more. I learned so much from my clients this way, and they received outstanding results from the work we did together. It went like this: The client would arrive and tell me the story of what was going on and hurting, I would have them walk, I watched them move and asked them questions. I learned how to ask them questions about their moving. Could they move this body part? Could they feel how it is moving or not moving? Once the person could feel what I was describing, we could experiment with changing what they were doing, seeing if it hurt or helped alleviate the pain. So many times the pain disappeared altogether with the change in walking pattern it was amazing both to them and to me. I could see the lack of movement in the body related to the problem they had described and took that information to the table and worked on their body. We attained great results working this way. I now had repeat clients and fans that sent me new clients. I have developed a local reputation of being able to unravel very difficult cases. And because I have gotten to work with the most difficult problems over the years, I have learned what no classroom could ever teach me. I can’t even find the words to describe the depth of knowledge that these hard cases have given me. The reward has been just as great for my clients, with their bodys functioning again, the smiles on their faces and the energy to have a different life ahead of them.

So here I am with my own struggles and pain in my body, helping people just like you, struggling with problems and pains in their bodies. At the end of a person’s session I often would be asked the question “What can I do to stop this from happening again, or what can I do to help it get better?” Since I do not prescribe or diagnose, what I did was answer by describing what I would do. Often I had a similar experience to draw on and gave real life examples. Next time I saw this person I would getfeed backabout how that went for them. This has been going on for 23 years. Now I am sharing with you three skills I have natural abilities in Movement Analysis, Technical Writing, and Teaching. Giving you what I have been sharing with my clients over the past 23 years.

I developed and taught several different continuing education classes for massage therapists. I have taught belly dance classes. A Pilawaar Embroidery class, which is a Balushi embroidery technique that I learned from my Arabic language teacher at the UofO, she was a Fulbright exchange student from Omen.

In 2012 I published the first edition of my book “Hello! This Is Your Body Speaking – Is Anyone Listening?” I republished it in 2016 as “Hello! This Is Your Body.” I started posting videos on Youtube in December of 2015. And in August of 2016, I published my first online education course “This Is Your Body.” I have just begun my journey to share with you the riches that my life experience has given me.

Robert SI had shoulder and neck pain for about nine months. I saw my primary care physician, a chiropractor and therapist before I was referred to Mary by a doctor she works with in Eugene. Before Mary I was treated with three different diagnosis. After meeting with her for about eight visits over two months I can say I am pain free. I have continued with the life changes and therapies that she suggested. Mary is a great teacher and therapist. I am at peace knowing I have a great health care person when I am in need.

Jamie K.Mary is a gem. Her office is professional, comfortable and warming and so is she. I have consistently received a thorough assessment, backed up with gentle treatment that continues to result in remarkable progress that I had not thought possible in my situation. Her effectiveness, knowledge and experience set her apart from the many other avenues I've attempted. She has earned her spot on my team of valued health professionals.

Daniel D.I have been a client of Mary's for two decades. I have consistently found her to be highly skilled, highly intuitive, and highly professional. She treats recurring aches and pains from the wear and tear of a physical job, as well as any new quirk or injury I might have. I leave our sessions relaxed, restored, and often with some self-therapy instruction that can help me prevent a re-injury. I'm tremendously grateful for my relationship with her.

Russell M.If you are a person determined to make the best of this lifetime, projecting your life’s activities through your body, I can only offer the highest recommendations for Mary Wheeler.I met Mary after the last of a long string of massage therapist gave me her name and number in the fall of 2001. I was a factory floor worker in my late 40’s, standing on concrete all day, lifting lots of weight when not standing in front of my chair less computer station. Everyday required dozens of trips up a long flight of stairs to the sales and administration offices.In February of 2003 I found myself in the hospital, the short end of a very nasty bicycle/motor vehicle accident. I narrowly escaped amputation of my left leg, and had a host of other broken bones as well. Mary and I decided that we would do our very best to make rehabilitation a complete success. The list of accomplishments include the climbing of Mount Shasta, bicycle racing in the Masters National Championships, taking up International Folk Dancing and working regularly off of ladders, trees, lifting heavy weights and sitting deathly still doing fine arts for hours.In 2005 the company I had worked in for 30 years went out of business and took my health insurance with it. Up until this last year, I have had to live off of savings and what creative day labor work I can find to pay the bills. Never once did I consider dropping my once a month visit with Mary. Never. To this day I visit monthly without fail, and will do so until she retires from this profession, in part because I have a dynamic body that is aging and needing attention. Without our collaboration my life would be very miserable today.

Douglas P.Mary Wheeler is an incredible practitioner! She is intuitive, knowledgeable and kind. My wife and I have seen Mary when needed over the past four years. My appointments are ALWAYS worthwhile! Thank you Mary! Doug Perry.

R Gone I had a massage done by Mary Wheeler after my car accident and every time, I feel really good after the massage. Mary Wheeler is a very nice and considerate person. I highly recommend her.

Martha G.Mary has been the best therapist in my toolbox of health care professionals. Her knowledge and intuition of therapeutic massage has made a most positive difference in my life.

Christine L.Mary is simply the best therapist there is. Her knowledge and skill with the human body is amazing. She is a structural engineer and a massage therapist all in one.

Alison B.Mary does wonders on a body suffering from multiple injuries and chronic pain. Mary has done what no other therapist has been able to do!